Haute couture to bedazzling jewelry and stellar stilettos, fashion events have been the hotspots for flaunting panache and style. So much so that anyone or anything connected with style or fashion wants to be associated with shows that have names like Givenchy, Jimmy Choo, and Versace showcasing their cuts and flares. But it is not just clothes, shoes and accessories that have been vying for the limelight at fashion shows; cars, mobile phones, watches, and even Mp3 players are being stylized to make a statement and have leveraged international fashion events to launch, unveil, or showcase their products. And the start is by becoming a sponsor of a renowned fashion event. As one of Indian fashion industrys blisteringly busy weeksWills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2008comes to an end with much fanfare, glamour and glitz, it was the turn for IT to make this association apparent.

Three new inspirational HP Imprint designs notebooks were unveiled by Serena Williams, ambassador for HP, at the recently concluded Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. HP was also a sponsor of the event. The series of notebooks include the Verve HP Imprint Finish on the limited edition HP Pavilion dv2600 series Entertainment Notebook PC, and the Thrive HP Imprint on the special edition HP Pavilion dv6800 Entertainment Notebook PC. HP also announced the launch of the HP Pavilion dv2800 Artist Edition Notebook PC with the Asian Odyssey HP Imprint designed by the winner of the HP and MTV Networks Take Action. Make Art. global notebook-design competition. These notebooks are unique in the Indian market because never has a line of imprinted notebooks with intricate design been available to Indian consumers.

Making a Style Statement
We believe that personal computing is an extension of the user and a personal lifestyle statement one makes depending on what he/she carries, says Shubhodip Pal, head, Marketing, PSG, HP. Pal added that HP is probably the first major sponsor to be associated with a mega fashion event like Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, in India and keeping in mind the considerable maturity of the audience over the year, the response to the product has been very good. Globally this trend is a success and there is no reason why it wouldnt be in India, says Pal. Taking the whole fusion of fashion and technology further, Shantanu & Nikhil, top names in the designer wear, designed exclusive silhouette for Serena Williams inspired by the Verve, Thrive and Asian Odyssey range of HPs notebooks.

As dresses and designs became drastic and bold, the scale and fanfare at fashion weeks also increased. The biggest brands of the consumer goods market started to associate themselves with fashion events as title or major sponsorMercedes Benz, Audi, LOreal, Coca-Cola, Lakme, Nokia, and many othersand they did not have to be related or part of the fashion industry. This was a marked difference, exemplifying that fashion and style no just in the clothes you wear. Before people could realize or pay heed to, fashion was in their modus vivendi.

The bag you carry, the car you drive, the lighter you use, and even the mobile phone you talk to became objects of affection and attention, or if you are not fashionable enough, rejection. So when with the turn of the century, globally and in India, laptops and notebooks became a business essential and personal preference, it was bound to be seen as an extension of its owner. No longer does the word computer create a picture of a wire-ridden, cumbersome and unpleasant looking desktop sitting dusty in our schools computer labs. Today, if there are iPod jackets that music enthusiast can wear to enhance their music listening experience, mobile phones smaller and smarter than your alligator skin wallet, ultra thin digital cameras with more attractive looks that its subjects, and then light as paper notebook and bright as the shade of a lipstick laptops were waiting to happen. Clearly, fashion and technology are melding into one whole!

Interestingly, an MNC executive whose lifeline is the laptop in all likelihood would also walk into a designer showroom to accessorize herself of an occasion. So while a persons outfit is endowed with the color of the season by the dress designer, and the mobile phone he/she carries is the slimmest of the lot, why should the laptop not manifest the personality? And this is what has translated in to a profitable business prospect. Bulky, ho-hum colored laptops are still available in the market but giving them company of the shelves are sleek, slim, funky colored laptop and notebooks that are fast becoming a preference for buyers. And HP, with its new range, takes that to the level with imprinted notebooks adding more choice than the different color notebooks available in the market.

Fashionable Enough?
Actors and sports stars have been the faces of campaigns and endorsements of major laptop and notebook makers, but to be associated with something considered the epitome of luxury fashion, killer looks and bold cuts, HP has been a first. But then why not? Nor in the Indian fashion industry in its inchoate stage, the laptop and notebooks segment is flourishing and Indians are developing their own unique sense of fashion and style. And with notebooks becoming a part of a persons lifestyle, an association like this set to grab attention. However, both fashion shows and stylish notebooks come with baggage.

It is not always about fashion. Things like purpose of use, price and suitability are also important aspect. Also, notebooks like HPs are for personal users who carry more than one notebook, separating personal and professional use. That number would remain small with many still preferring desktops for home or personal usage. Colored notebooks and laptops have started a trend, no doubt, reflecting on the changing taste of young executives, professionals and students, but are Indians ready for funky looking, heavy in design notebooks? Also, knowing the irksome traits of fashion, that it can be heavy on the pockets and that it changes with the season, making this investment can be bit of a tug.

Though large scale fashion events have been criticized for becoming more of razzle-dazzle and less of making business sense for buyers and designer, these fashion fiestas are certainly doing what they do bestgrab attention. It cannot be discounted that HPs got the necessary boost as it attempted something quite unseen in the Indian market. HPs imprint notebooks or MacAir Book or the range of colored notebooks by Dell and Sony or the latest extra small and cheap Eepc by Asus have all been giving users the choice of good looking, light weight and fashion notebooks and laptops that not only fulfill their functional needs but at the same time vent their personality like they would with any other personal belongings.

Shikha Das
shikhad@cybermedia.co.in

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